Short-term Let Planning Guidance for Edinburgh

Overview

We want to know what you think about our proposed planning guidance for short-term lets in Edinburgh. We have updated the guidance to give more detail on how we will make decisions on planning applications.

In 2021, the Scottish Government brought in new legislation which allows councils to have a short-term let control area. In a control area, these new laws mean if you offer a flat or a house for a short-term let that is not the home you live in, you will need planning permission for it.

We are the first council in Scotland to apply for a short-term control area. This covers the whole of the Council’s area. Scottish Government approved our request and the control area started on 5 September 2022.

Why your views matter

Now that Edinburgh is a control area, we have proposed guidance which we’d like to get your views on. The Planning Committee asked us to get views on this from residents and businesses. Download the full report from that committee meeting.

When people apply for permission to run short-term lets, we will assess applications with:

• our plan which includes policy for planning applications in residential areas.
• the short-term let guidance

We will use your responses to shape the final version of the guidance which we aim to have in place in early 2023. Your responses will be confidential. We will not link them to you unless you are responding on behalf of an organisation.

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